Funding-led expansion establishes Empathy as the new standard in family care and the fastest-growing benefit for insurance carriers and employers alike
NEW YORK, March 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Empathy, the company changing the way the world deals with grief and loss, today announced a $47 million Series B round led by Index Ventures with participation from General Catalyst, Entrée Capital, Latitude, and Brewer Lane, plus strategic investments from major life insurance carriers Allianz, MassMutual Ventures, MetLife, New York Life Ventures, Securian Financial, and Sumitomo, bringing Empathy’s total capital raised to $90 million.
“Dealing with the loss of a loved one is one of life’s most challenging moments, yet there has been a problematic gap in the traditional support systems and benefits that barely touches on what families need. Empathy continues to set new standards for supporting families through grief and loss,” said Ron Gura, Co-Founder and CEO of Empathy. “We are honored to provide help in a sustainable, scalable way by working with employers and insurance carriers to become the new standard for modern benefits. Embracing empathy in the workplace is good for families, good for business, and good for our society as a whole.”
In the past three years, Empathy has made a full range of assistance with grief, estate settlement, probate and more available to 5 million employees and 35 million policyholders across the U.S. This support comes at no cost to families, provided either through their life insurance benefits or coupled with bereavement leave through an employer. The Series B funding will be used to expand Empathy’s services and cover new industries and regions nationwide.
“Empathy’s approach to grief and loss support is defining the emerging compassionate economy, built around anticipating the needs of employees outside of work,” said Danny Rimer, Partner at Index Ventures. “Empathy stands at the forefront, integrating heartfelt support into the employee journey with a solution that helps businesses and insurance carriers of all sizes to invest in their human capital and do better for all.”
Unsupported bereavement affects stress levels, productivity, mental health, and workplace morale. While 90 percent of employers today do offer bereavement leave, 60 percent still only provide up to three days of leave, even though loss continues to affect employees for more than a year after they return to work.
“Our goal is not only to support and advocate for families going through bereavement but to shift the way everyone thinks of and approaches loss,” Gura continued. “Bringing loss and grief out of the shadows and giving it its rightful place as an important and normal part of life is vital. Our Series B is an important step on our path toward paying the attention and care it deserves and giving every bereaved family everywhere the support they need.”
The strategic investment from six of the world’s largest life insurance companies is a strong signal that the industry sees this cultural shift toward an emphasis on showing up for people when they need it the most. Empathy is at the forefront of the transformation in the insurance industry that emphasizes improving the user experience and adding value for beneficiaries and businesses, while also showing true care and compassion for families.
The new funding will allow Empathy to expand by leaps and bounds, guaranteeing that it stays the course in this transformation to make loss and end-of-life issues less of an ordeal for all bereaved families.
About Empathy
Empathy is an innovative technology company transforming the way the world deals with grief and the loss of a loved one. Backed by leading tech investors and the largest global insurance carriers, Empathy is at the forefront of the emerging compassionate economy, setting the new standard in family care and modern employment benefits.
Founded in 2020 by Ron Gura and Yonatan Bergman, Empathy offers a full range of assistance to those facing grief, estate settlement, probate and more through life insurance benefits or via bereavement leave through an employer. By partnering with Fortune 500 companies and leading insurance carriers, Empathy currently offers services to 5 million employees and 35 million policyholders across the US at no cost to families.
Empathy uses its award-winning app and Care Team to carefully assess needs and next steps and complements experiences through time-saving and tech-enabled tools to effectively provide personalized plans, automated workflows, and care resources, including an extensive library of articles, guides, and meditation tools, to support them through their grieving process. With accolades from Apple, Google Play, CB Insights, and Fast Company, and $90 million in total funding, Empathy is the fastest-growing benefit for insurance carriers and employers alike.
Learn more about Empathy at www.empathy.com
Contact: press@empathy.com
